Sonic the Hedgehog: Friendship
by Hawki
Summary: Semi-multiverse Story: The Great War pitted Man and Mobian against each other, a crucible of hate and destruction washing over the world. Still, even in such times however, exceptions could be found...and sometimes in very surprising circumstances.
1. Beginnings

_A/N_

_The 'story behind this story' is not exactly a pet peave of mind, but as I've posted it up here before, I may as well explain._

_Originally this was to be a 'multiverse' adaptation of the story behind Sonic meeting Kintobor, which was the backstory adapted by Western versions of the series, particually in the UK. While writing it however, I changed my stance on the idea. I still like(d) the idea of Sonic multiverse scenarios, but shifted my preference to singular universe fics. In any multiverse fic, certain sacrifices must be made, cutting something out of one universe while leaving another universe's interpretation intact. It's a difficult balancing game and prone to bias._

_In the midst of the revelation, I deleted the story halfway through. However, I've decided to repost the original three chapters, in the sense that they can stand alone. AU in a sense, but really something that I had fun writing and possibily reading as well._

_Disclaimer: The Sonic the Hedgehog series is the property of Sega. And anyone they licence it to, hence all the different 'verses. Not complaining though!_

* * *

**Friendship**

**Chapter 1: ****Beginnings**

Knowledge.

It was something that all sentient creatures sought, a pressing need to expand one's understanding of the world. Curiosity was something that was present in every sentient creature, an evolutionary throwback to when their ancestors had first looked up at the night sky with awe and wonder, had first learnt the secret of fire, had first expressed themselves in what later generations would call "art."

There were many reasons for seeking knowledge. At times, it was mere curiosity. At others, it was driven by utilitarian purposes, the understanding that knowledge brought power. In the modern world, a world where many of the planet's sentient creatures were under forms of government, it was utilitarian purposes that drove science, ranging from cures for diseases that had been a blight upon their species since time immemorial to researching more humane ways in which they could slaughter their enemies.

Yet there were still those who remained independent, who pursued knowledge on their own. Often these individuals fell into the category of those who were naturally curious, seeking to avoid the pressure of their superiors to dedicate their skill to what they deemed 'worthwhile' pursuits.

Yet there was one individual who pursued knowledge on his own, yet for utilitarian purposes, purposes that were driven by the highest form of altruism that could be summoned, his subject matter ranging on the metaphysical. Truly one of a kind. But then again, that was to be expected. Exceptional individuals tended to shut themselves away from the world, to hide from their past…

No matter; the experiment was about to begin.

* * *

**1214 hours, October 5th****, 3224**

**South Island****, Green Hills**

3224-nothing especially significant about the combination of two types of prime numbers coming together as four digits. Still, it was the continuation of something, namely the Great War between the Kingdom of Acorn and the Overlander city of Megaopolis that had been waging for eight years, currently in the middle of its ninth. It was definitely a grim time to be a Mobian living in that kingdom, as no matter how powerful a force valour may have been, superior technology continued to prove itself the deciding factor. Hardly romantic, but then again, war never is, no matter what propaganda may imply.

Still, even in these dark times, one could still enjoy moments of peace and solitude, forget momentarily that your fellow citizens were fighting in some place you'd never heard of while scientists at home researched into more effective ways of killing. For a brown hedgehog currently in the Green Hills, this was no exception.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about him. At the age of four he was walking and talking as one would expect of a Mobian of his age, albeit with more wisecracking than one on the receiving end would usually care for. Brown fur covered most of his body although his arms and chest were of olive pigmentation, lacking any covering, apart from white gloves that covered his hands-a fairly common cultural norm in Mobian society.

Apart from that and the blue unlaced sneakers he wore he was completely bare. Hardly surprising given his spiky quills extended from the top of his head down to his tail quill. Anyone sneaking up on him would find that he was just as dangerous in the rear as in the front. Of course, the chances of the hedgehog not noticing such an act were quite rare, his black eyes conveying a form of intensity and awareness. Perhaps some of it came naturally. Living with his uncle in Mobotropolis (on the official level at least), who was privy to many secrets that others were not privy to, Sonic generally managed to gain insight into juicy material that few had the privilege of seeing. Still, his attitude was his own, and no-one would deny that.

Although he lived in Mobotropolis, Sonic never really spent much time there. His uncle was one of the kingdom's top scientists and was often sent to South Island to carry out his research, the fact that the capital could fall to the Overlanders at any moment being a well known fact. Situated in the Pacific Ocean with a semi-tropical climate, South Island was far more idyllic and peaceful than anything the kingdom could provide in its own territories.

Therefore, Sonic always tagged along with him. South Island had an air of peace and serenity that Mobotropolis lacked and a kind of open freedom that Sonic had always desired. If someone had asked where his home was, South Island had as much bearing as a possible answer as Mobotropolis, the latter mainly due to that being the location where the war was. Of course, it had been South Island where Sonic had spent his early years. Where Chuck had found him…

The possibility of the city actually falling was something that Sonic always pushed to the back of his mind. After all, loss was something that he was used to. Not that he went on about it much, not wanting to be associated with melodrama, but occasionally the memories came back. Those mechanical automatons, him running like the wind, losing that guitar shaped medallion that had been with him all his life…

Eventually he'd ran into the arms of Charles, who insisted that Sonic call him Uncle Chuck, or at least Chuck for short. The younger hedgehog had no obligations against this-as long as Chuck could provide him with a home, a large degree of freedom and his top notch chilli dogs, Sonic wasn't complaining.

So here he was on the island, running through the Green Hills, situated near the island's southern coast. It was a far better environment for such a thing than in Mobotropolis, where there were people always walking and/or talking in streets that were too narrow for the hedgehog's liking. Given that Sonic had an unfortunate habit of running into people or zooming by them at such a speed that their fur would stick out or certain clothing would be revealed for the world to see such an aversion was understandable. Not that Sonic fully understand such qualms of the latter problem; he'd never had much of a desire to wear clothing. His quills would usually tear up anything that was placed over his upper body and his spike tail would always stick through any clothing on the lower half.

So therefore, the Green Hills were a far more ideal place to explore and rush through. Not only did Sonic have freedom to move but the place was a virtual playground, dotted with yellow springs, red springs, hovering blocks of land that seemingly defied gravity (not even Chuck could provide an explanation and 360 degree arcs that allowed one to do a loop while continuing to move forward. No-one could account for such devices and structures spread throughout the area but when they allowed for the adventure that Sonic craved he wasn't about to complain.

The hedgehog screeched to a halt under one of the many shady palms that was spread throughout the area, yet another amenity value and source of fluid if Sonic desired to take a coconut and drink its milk. It was fairly often too, considering as given South Island's Hills' latitude (around 20N, just south of North Amerdia), it seemed to always exist in a state of summer, prompting thirst. The milk wasn't as good as the thick shakes that Sonic often enjoyed but they served their purpose. At least they prevented him from having to get near water to quench his thirst. H2O was a liquid compound that Sonic avoided like the devil.

"Well, how'd I do?" asked Sonic, looking up at the tree as he did so. At first glance it might have appeared odd, a hedgehog seemingly talking to a tree. Had the heat got to him? Far from it. Instead, a Mobi bluebird flew out from among the leaves, a stopwatch tucked in among the feathers of his right wing.

Flicky Bluebird was two years older than Sonic and one of the many Mobi friends that Sonic had made in the Green Hills, although "friend" might have been too intimate a term for the likings of the avian creature. "Acquaintance" might have been a better term, considering that both of them had a penchant for being wisecrackers, their comments almost always directed at each other. It was one of their few similarities, greatly overshadowed by their differences in physical appearance.

"Five kilometres in two point four minutes," said Flicky, looking at the stopwatch. "Which is…" He trailed off, noticing that Sonic was looking at him with a blank expression on his face. Flicky sighed; "That's two minutes and twenty-four seconds."

"That's better," said Sonic smugly. "Seriously, why do you bother using those stupid mathematical terms?"

"Because we're not all like you," murmured Flicky darkly.

"What!?"

"Nothing."

His suspicions allayed, Sonic checked the soles of his shoes. Flicky flew over curiously; "What are you doing?" he asked.

Sonic didn't answer at first, so intent on examining the soles of his shoes. Flicky sighed; honestly, what was it with Mobians and their clothing? True, most of their kind found their fur adequate but more and more of them seemed to be embracing what appeared to be nothing more than extra layers of skin. With such fads taking hold and the Great War at its peek, it seemed like the amount of difference between Mobians and humans was constantly decreasing.

Eventually Sonic looked up; "Soles are clear."

"Huh!? From what?" asked Flicky. "You're not making any sense." His voice grew softer; "As usual."

"Friction," Sonic explained. "Apparently my running all the time wears out the shoes of my sneaks, at least according to Uncle Chuck." Sonic's face darkened slightly; "Spoilsport. He's always keeping me on a leash.

"_And who could blame him__?" _wondered Flicky. _"I bet the geezer lets the kid run through the Green Hills cause he knows that I'll keep an eye on the spike ball."_

Flicky resisted the urge to sigh vocally and instead did so mentally; he considered Sonic a friend, true, in that regard he was no different from the rest of the Mobi that Sonic associated with in that regard; Joe Sushi, Bunkie, Chirps, Peter, Tux, Porker Lewis… It was just that he and perhaps Joe were the only ones who had concerns for the hedgehog.

Mobians were closer to sapience than Mobi on the evolutionary tree and therefore took longer to fully mature. Sonic seemed to be an exception to this rule in that he spoke coherently and didn't go rambling on about…well, whatever Mobian kids rambled on about, Flicky had never been able to make sense of it.

Yet there was something more to Sonic than that. Neither Flicky nor Joe could describe it but there was something…_wild_ about him, his insistence on running through the Green Hills probably only the tip of the iceberg, a poor substitute for indulging his…well, whatever prompted Sonic to risk life and limb at every opportunity, jumping over rivers when he knew he couldn't swim, running around the 360 degree arcs…Flicky had genuine fears that his Mobian friend was going to get himself hurt someday to such an extent that there would be nothing that he and the rest of the smaller critters that Sonic associated with could do.

"_But maybe I'm worrying too much,"_ Flicky thought. _"The kid's had it tough; he can probably look after himself."_

Such thoughts had bearing on them after all. Flicky and the rest of the gang had met Sonic roughly three months ago. Pleasant and all, but Sonic seemed reluctant to talk about his past, at least his past before his third birthday, or round abouts. Somehow, he always managed to turn the subject around, using a mouth that was even faster than his feet. Well-…

"Hey, are you even listening to me!?"

Flicky snapped to attention, Sonic's exclamation ringing through his ears and ruffling his feathers. The hedgehog had probably been complaining all this time, no doubt at the fact that friction had taken a vengeance, two months' wear of the soles of his sneaks scraped off. _"A few more incidents like this and the hedgehog will be forming roads in this area!"_ He shuddered at the thought.

"Um, sure," Flicky stuttered, noticing that Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently and was probably a few seconds away from using his "I'm waitinggg" catch phrase. He glanced at the stop watch which doubled as a clock; "Twelve twenty-five," Flicky said. He turned down to face Sonic; "I best be off. Stuff to do, people to see…you know…" The bird trailed off.

"Twitipating?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, pretty much," said Flicky simply. He blinked a few times; "Wait, what!?" Sonic simply grinned, his black eyes shining.

"Whatever," said Flicky coldly. "See you around spiny." With that, he flew off, ready to…well, whatever Flicky did with female members of his species.

"See ya," Sonic called out. He considered following Flicky to see what he found so interesting about Scout, a white Mobi mockingbird but he decided against it. Girls had cooties after all and disease was something that Sonic could do without, given that disease stopped you from running…from _moving. _That was a horror beyond words.

Sonic shuddered at the thought and sought to take his mind off it, namely by looking down the cliff at the… _"ugh, water," _he thought. Apparently he had what his uncle called "hydrophobia". Sonic didn't bother asking what it meant, all he knew was that he detested water and had always done so…with good reason. He lifted his gaze, subconsciously viewing the cliff as he did so; not much to see really. Branches, foliage, rocks, a grate in the cliff face, pieces of-…

**A WHAT!?**

Sonic's gaze, now fully conscious and alert, immediately swivelled to the anomaly, namely a giant hole in the cliff with metal bars, the type of thing you'd find near a sewerage plant. _"Could such a place exist here?" _Sonic wondered. He sincerely hoped not, the Green Hills was far too pristine for such an establishment, especially one that relied on such primitive means of waste disposal.

But come to think of it, maybe it wasn't related to sewerage. After all, no liquid waste was coming out of it and looking down at the river below, it was hard to imagine it being more pristine. Maybe it wasn't for releasing sewerage. Maybe it was for something else…

Sonic grinned-there was only one way to find out…

* * *

"So what do you think Sonic's doing?" asked Scout to Flicky, currently perched beside him on a branch of one of the palm trees.

"Aw, I wouldn't worry," said Flicky, marvelling at the grey mockingbird's feathers. "Can't be anything dangerous."

* * *

"**Geronimo!"**

Having decided that finding a bridge to the opposite cliff was too wimpy and taking a run-up of one hundred metres still didn't make the cut, Sonic had settled on a fifty metre stretch to get the acceleration he needed to make the jump from one side of the gorge to the next. Of course, there was the _slight_ possibility that he wouldn't make the jump and would either fall to his death or somehow survive and drown instead, but such thoughts never entered his mind either.

They would have been wasted anyway. Seemingly defying the laws of gravity, he made it to the grate on the other side without a hitch. Well, maybe not entirely hitch free; there was the fact that he only barely grabbed the edge of the grate, suffered a bout of vertigo and it was only his hydrophobia that gave him the strength to crawl up to and through the grate.

Still, such facts were irrelevant to Sonic. He'd made it across the gorge and that was all that mattered. Of course, he could always go back and use them to his advantage when telling the story to his friends, having already developed several ideas of fighting robots intent on taking over the area. The hedgehog looked down the tunnel; dark, colourless and dull.

"_Just like school really,"_ he thought, shuddering at the memories he had of Mobotropolis's education system. _"Well, at least it doesn't stink. And besides, the underground is a hedgehog's natural habitat." _With that, he set on running down the tunnel into darkness.

"_Sure hope there's light at the end of this thing…"_

* * *

Failure.

Yet again, it was failure that greeted the scientist. Not that he truly minded; it was to be expected at this stage, for with only six of the required seven, how could he succeed? He knew as well as…well, technically no-one considering the subject matter, that success was truly an impossibility at this stage, a fleeting possibility unless he either acquired seventh item or made some fine tuning to the ROCC, which, given its volatile nature at this point, was something that he wasn't willing to carry out.

No. All he could do until the day of success was prepare for it. He was a patient individual, he was willing to wait, whether it be a day, a year, or even to the end of eternity and the extinction of mortal flesh.

Still, it would be nice to have someone to share his frustration with …


	2. The Man and the Mobian

**Friendship**

**Chapter 2: The Man and the Mobian**

**1239 hours, October 5****, 3224**

**Some place where the sun don't shine**

Given how Mobotropolis housed mobians of almost every species, one might have assumed that there would be a degree of racial tension. True, they were mobians all for one and one for all but considering that the fact that cats and dogs living together side by side and mongooses and snakes seeing each other on a regular basis were just two of many seemingly apparent paradoxes, it might have been hard for an outsider to believe that such species weren't reaching for each others throats or actually going a step further and slitting them, give or take.

Of course, that would be ignoring the fact that mobians had lived together in the city and the rest of the Kingdom of Acorn in peace and harmony for time immemorial, currently under the leadership of King Maximilian Acorn. Exactly how long this would continue to be the case was a matter of concern considering that the overlanders were bearing down on his kingdom on all fronts but Sonic didn't care so much. Well, he did, but not wanting to associate himself with something as morbid as war, Sonic was focussing on the here and now, something that he was extraordinarily adept at.

However, Sonic was beginning to have doubts of the value of such a strategy. He'd realised before entering the tunnel that it was dark and dull, he just hadn't appreciated to what extent that would be the case. _"The underground is meant to be a hedgehog's natural home,"_ Sonic thought to himself. _"Nothing natural about this though."_

Still, Sonic kept onwards, wondering what kind of light lay at the end of the tunnel, whether it be figurative or literal. A Green Hill version of Ali Baba? Bandits? A dragon? Some kind of mad scientist in an underground base with numerous missile silos, ready to launch warheads at the world's major cities? Sonic particularly enjoyed the thought of the last one given how it would obviously be a source of much excitement and action.

And maybe such a hope indeed had bearing, for after trudging down the tunnel for longer than Sonic would have cared to recollect, or even remember for that matter, the hedgehog came to a grate in the roof of the tunnel, leading to a room above. _"Maybe the control centre for the missiles," _whispered the juvenile section of his mind. Trying to keep his excitement in check and actually succeeding, the hedgehog quietly shifted the grate aside and entered the room above.

It was…interesting, to say the least, in that Sonic could divide it into a series of distinct sections. On one end was a large piece of machinery with numerous other consoles, displaying what Sonic guessed to be measurements of temperature, pressure and other mathematical factors he neither understood nor cared about. Not that Sonic knew it, but he was looking at a small generator, namely an extremely sophisticated one.

A whole section of wall was devoted to a wooden shelf featuring numerous books. Sonic wasn't too sure how he felt about that. He had nothing against books but tended to prefer comics, much to his uncle's mock despair. Looking at the titles of the works of literature, if they were indeed such a thing, Sonic decided that he might have had the right idea. Titles such as "Everything you Need to Know about Physics" didn't sound very appealing.

A small kitchen could be seen along with a door that led to…whatever it led to could be seen also but they, like the other aspects of the room barely caught Sonic's attention. For most of his attention was faced on one side of the room, a large, oval shaped apparatus present, with someone, or _something _by Sonic's reckoning, standing by it;

"A human…" the hedgehog murmured.

Despite the murmur being a soft one, the human turned around immediately. A look of surprised was etched on his face, making him look almost comical, with his large glasses and the flaming orange hair that stuck out horizontally from the sides of his head. His moustache followed suit, which was twice as long as either side of hair. The man smiled in amusement;

"Well what do we have here?" he asked. "Erincaeus Europaeus."

* * *

"You sure that Sonic's ok?" asked Scout.

"Scout, stop worrying about him ok," said Flicky irritably, wishing that the mockingbird would spend less time dwelling on the brown rodent and more time on him, namely the blue and extremely good looking avian. "Even if he's in trouble, I'm sure that he can handle himself and won't do anything stupid."

**

* * *

**"Watch who you're calling names pal!" exclaimed Sonic at the perceived insult.

"I am watching," said the scientist, still smiling. "Namely a brown mobian hedgehog with an unusually aggressive temperament."

"Aggressive!?" exclaimed Sonic, finding himself disliking this human, presumably a scientist given his attire (a white lab coat), less and less. It was bad enough that a human was in the Green Hills of all places, but he could at least show the hedgehog that he deserved, at least in Sonic's mind.

"That's an awful lot coming from you," Sonic snarled.

"Pardon?" Although the scientist still maintained his good humour, he now appeared to be genuinely confused.

"Calling me aggressive!" the hedgehog exclaimed. "You know as well as I do that it's a fact that humans are belligerent creatures. Still, I never thought that they were hypocrites also."

The humour that had previously been present in the scientist's visage had evaporated, having been replaced by a look of…what? Sorrow? Discomfort? Guilt? Sonic couldn't quite make it out but decided not to dwell on it. After all, you could never take humans at face value.

"Hypocrite eh?" the scientist commented dryly. "Such a big word coming from such a small hedgehog." He adjusted his glasses; "How old are you anyway? Three?"

"Four," said Sonic bluntly. He intensified his glare; "Young perhaps, but old enough to be aware of what your kind have done to the Kingdom of Acorn, of what you're still doing."

Sonic could feel concern at the back of his consciousness, telling him that such hatred was not becoming that of what his personality truly was-humour, adventure and simplicity were what Sonic addressed, not loathing that bordered on racism. Sonic was able to quash such a feeling though; the Great War had remained a distant phenomenon for him as long as he could remember, but now that he was actually confronted with a biological manifestation of it, namely the scientist standing before him, different, almost alien feelings had been awoken in his personality.

"You're from Mobotropolis aren't you?" asked the scientist eventually, his voice much softer than it had originally been.

"Yeah, so?" asked Sonic aggressively. "Want to get information from me or something?"

"No," said the human simply, so simply that Sonic was slightly taken aback. "Why should I? The overlanders can fight their war as long as they want."

Sonic smirked; "You make it sound like you're not affiliated with them. Your lies are-…"

"I'm not lying," said the scientist firmly. A large amount of conviction was in his voice, so much that Sonic's stance towards the man was becoming less rigid. After all, the human's calm nature was an antithesis to what Sonic expected of his kind. It seemed to be infectious too, considering that Sonic felt himself relaxing in the lab.

Sonic shook the feeling off; this had to be an act. The scientist knew that a mobian had stumbled in on his work and was trying to act sincere to prevent Sonic from calling in the cavalry. _"Or better yet, I could take him out myself…" _thought the hedgehog, imagining the fame, fortune and food (especially chilli dogs) that would greet him once word of his deeds became known. Still, reward or no reward, Sonic knew what he had to do. The right thing…

The thing that, for some totally inexplicable reason, Sonic found himself unable to do…

"Is something the matter?" the scientist asked, a faint smile showing underneath that ridiculous orange moustache. Sonic winced inwardly; the man's calm nature was getting to him and the pinkskin knew it.

"Only what I see before me," said Sonic, trying to convey more resolve than he felt and only half succeeding. "Some four eyed dweeb with no life who's locked himself underground due to his lack of social skills."

The man chuckled; "That's being a bit harsh, really. Plenty of mobi visit me."

"And what do you do with them once you've lured them in?" Sonic sneered. "Put them on hamster wheels or something?"

The scientist didn't answer immediately, instead raising an eyebrow; "Don't you think that's a bit irrational?"

"Not as much as attacking the Kingdom of Acorn for no good reason."

The scientist shook his head; "I want nothing to do with what's going on between the overlanders and mobians. I left that behind long ago." His visage became…withdrawn, a sign of…what? Pain? Regret? Another kind of emotion that hinted at sadness due to past events? Sonic didn't dwell on it; it was easy to maintain a façade after all.

"And I can trust you _how, _exactly?" Sonic asked.

"That's up to you," the scientist said, smiling faintly. "But whether you believe me or not, the fact remains that the only conflict I get nowadays is when a certain mobi bluebird dive bombs me." He chuckled; "All in good taste though. No harm comes of it."

"_That sounds like Flicky," _thought Sonic, reflecting how the bird's physical appearance and character matched up with his own experiences of dealing with the irritating feather duster. _"But if he knew about this guy, why didn't he tell me?" _

Sonic decided not to dwell on it; the actions of that flying twat were under no obligation to make sense and he had more pressing issues at hand, namely what he was going to do about the scientist and, should the situation call for it, how he was going to escape.

Taking the scientist out was no option; at the age of four, murder was something that was still anathema to Sonic and while breaking bones or rendering the man unconscious were far less severe in terms of permanent effects (unless one included necromancy), physical assault was something that Sonic, partly due to the scientist's good nature, found himself unable to do. Besides, given the fact that the human was about three times as tall as him hardly helped matters.

The list of options was shorter than Sonic had anticipated, so short that, apart from physical assault, the only option remaining to him was to get the hell out of dodge and warn Uncle Chuck that there was some evil human scientist about to hold the world to ransom and if the Army didn't come in, guns blazing Rambo style, it would be too late to do anything about it. Ok, maybe an exaggeration, but at least Sonic's account of events would inspire a sense of urgency, which was probably needed in this situation. At least that's what the hedgehog told himself.

"_Ok, just one problem," _Sonic thought to himself, liking the sound of the plan. _"How do I get out of here?"_

He looked around; there was no immediate entry or exit to the lab as far as he could see apart from the underground tunnel from which he'd entered, which wasn't an option; the angle to jump upwards from the tunnel was entirely wrong and besides, going that way meant that he'd be near…ugh, water.

"_I have to find out from the scientist,"_ thought Sonic. _"Better keep it subtle though."_

"Hey four eyes," Sonic called out. "How do I get out of here?"

"_Smooth shit Sherlock," _whispered his mind.

The scientist smiled; "Overlooking the fact that you didn't exactly observe proper decorum (_"proper what!?")_, I can tell you that to leave, all you have to do is walk down the hallway there," he said, gesturing to said hallway that was on the other side of the room. "You'll find a ladder leading to the surface at the end of it."

Sonic cautiously walked across the room to said passage, his senses on high alert to deal with any traps lying in wait, ranging from laser guns to trapdoors. Having read too many comic books, played too many video games and watched too many cartoons for his own good, it was almost a disappointment that nothing _did _happen.

That the ladder was evident to see didn't help matters either.

"Um, thanks," said Sonic awkwardly, unable to comprehend that he'd actually just thanked a human. Certainly was a strange day. Then again, the fact that he'd stumbled upon this lab in the first place indicated that the day had become as abnormal as possible.

"Anytime," said the scientist. "Feel free to visit sometime."

"Maybe," murmured Sonic. He turned up to glare at the scientist; "But don't be surprised if I bring the Army with me."

The man nodded; "You must do what you think is right."

"Um…sure," said Sonic uneasily. With that, he began walking down the passage.

"_Condescending pricka," _Sonic thought to himself, eyes still open for any booby traps in the hallway, appreciating how such a narrow space would be an adequate spot. _"As soon as I get back home I'm going to…"_

Sonic found himself unable to complete that train of thought, the line having been subject to a barricade of conscience.

Sonic sighed; he'd had an encounter with a human, a species that was virtually the same as overlanders in every way as far as he could tell, and it had been the complete opposite of what he had expected. And as far as 'doing what was right' was concerned…well, that was a bit rich coming from one of _his_ kind. Then again, Sonic had rarely given the concept of morality much thought. It gave him a headache.

However, of the thought that had gone through the hedgehog's head, he had come to at least one conclusion. There was someone that he needed to see, someone who had a lot to answer for…

_Flicky._

* * *

**1303 hours, October 5, 3224**

**South Island, Green Hills**

To Flicky, being a mobi was the best of the possible options concerning Mobius's sentient species.

There were two main sentient species on Mobius; humans and mobians, both of which were, for the most part, either at each other's throats or at best, regarding each other with cool disdain. From those species stemmed overlanders and mobi respectively; overlanders having increased height, strength and stamina (along with some pretty freaky air styles) and mobi bearing more resemblance to their lesser animal cousins.

It was a relationship that Flicky was fond of, given that, unlike humans and mobians, mobi development was extremely rapid, their offspring becoming independent after one or two years; an evolutionary throwback to the principles of natural selection, where an animal's offspring had to develop quickly in order to survive and reproduce.

True, mobians showed signs of this development too, their offspring becoming independent at around four or five, Sonic being no exception to this rule), but it still didn't compare to the perk that, at the age of seven, Flicky was going through adolescence, and as such, in the presence of a certain grey mockingbird named Scout, he'd become a slave to his hormones.

Being one year younger than Flicky, Scout had yet to go through this stage and was still at the point of her life where disdain for the opposite sex had yet to be replaced by biological imperatives. Still, Flicky was willing to wait until this occurred, a patience demonstrated by his increased willingness to hang around the mockingbird, taking in the aesthetic qualities of the avian.

To Flicky's delight, his persistence seemed to be working; Scout had given up worrying about Sonic and was engaging in casual conversation. _"Seems to be going well," _Flicky thought to himself. _"Keep this up for a couple of more hours and-…"_

"**Flicky!"**

Both birds jumped in surprise, Scout actually falling off and flying back onto the branch. For a second, both of the mobi wondered where the exclamation had come from. The next, they were aware that it had come from a certain familiar brown hedgehog that had screeched to a halt at the base of the tree, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Sonic!?" Flicky exclaimed, glaring at the rodent below him. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"I could ask you the same question," Sonic sneered. "Or rather, what you're _not _doing."

"Pardon?" asked Scout, filling in for Flicky, who was glaring at Sonic with…well, something more extreme than hatred. If looks could kill, Sonic would already be at his funeral.

"You heard me!" Sonic shouted, partially guilty that he was taking his frustration out on Scout, but his anger ensuring that he didn't really care if the mockingbird got caught in the crossfire.

"All this time you've been aware that there was a human in the Green Hills!" Sonic continued, now engaging in a staring contest with Flicky. "You were going to tell me this _when_, exactly?"

Sonic had seemingly won the staring contest before it had even begun, given that Flicky was no longer staring at the hedgehog with hatred, but rather with bemusement; "Who, Kintobor?" Flicky asked curiously.

"Hell if I know!" Sonic shouted. "But yes, if he's some four eyed, racoon moustached bozo who spends his time in a lab underground, then yes, that's the guy I'm talking about!"

Flicky nodded while Scout looked on in trepidation, not liking where this was going; "Sounds like him," said the bluebird. "Kintobor and I get on well."

"How sweet," Sonic sneered. "I suppose you let him into that little club of yours, what with Bunkie, Chirps-…"

"Sonic, everyone knows about Kintobor," Scout interrupted, trying to smooth things over. "I-…"

"Everyone!?" Sonic exclaimed. "Don't I count in your census!? Or is there some other reason that you haven't told me that there's a mad scientist down there who's probably building weapons of mass destruction to use against-…"

"Sonic, this is exactly the reason why we didn't tell you about Kintobor," said Flicky irritably.

"Huh?"

Flicky sighed; "Sonic, the fact remains that, for the most part, you're nothing more than an ignorant twat who hails from a city that's currently under siege. Given how stubborn you can be, you were hardly going to take kindly to the knowledge of Kintobor's existence."

"Can you blame me?" Sonic asked. He tried to apply a level of conviction to his voice that tried to express his non-existent anger but, somewhat appropriately, he failed to do so. Oddly enough, he wasn't too irked at this fact. Almost a first.

Sonic continued to glare at Flicky, or at least tried to, hoping that the bluebird would be willing to continue the argument, thus raising his anger to the point where he could…well, something that would deal with the scientist. Such hope was misplaced however, considering that Flicky, along with Scout, continued to stare at the hedgehog with a look of…what? Pity? Amusement? A level of distrust? Sonic couldn't tell.

"What would you have me do?" Sonic whispered eventually, attempting to break the silence that, despite the sound of the wind and water that ran through the Green Hills, had descended upon them, not to mention asking what he considered to be a valid question.

"Personally I'd have you do nothing," said Flicky, ruffling his feathers in a manner that was analogous to a shrug. "Still, considering how unlikely that is for someone like you, I may as well ask that you do the next best thing."

"Which is…?" Sonic asked, his voice bordering on trepidation. Flicky simply stared at him, bearing resemblance to an owl in a sense; the provider of wisdom. Eventually, he spoke;

"The right thing."

* * *

**1816 hours, October 2, 3224**

**South Island, house on southwest beach strip**

There was a saying that science was doomed to fall victim to politics, that the most sacred knowledge was rarely compatible with actual need and would therefore cease to be pursued as utilitarianism took its course.

Working on…well, that was classified, Sir Charles Hedgehog, known as Uncle Chuck to his nephew, knew this for fact, at least in spirit. At the ages of 44, Charles was old enough to remember life before the Great War, a time where he was able to pursue science, namely in the fields of robotics and biology to his heart's content. Recognised as one of the greatest scientific minds that the Kingdom of Acorn had seen, so brilliant that he'd received a knighthood from King Maximilian himself back in 3209, he could generally receive funding for any project, regardless of its actual worth.

Then the Great War began.

Almost overnight, Charles found that his life had changed. True, he was still a respected scientist and had a degree of freedom, but what he could work on was limited to what could save mobian lives, take overlander lives or, should he achieve a breakthrough, something that could do both. Anything else he designed was at best frowned upon and at worst possible evidence for a trial for supposed treason.

Whopty fucking doo.

Leaning on the kitchen table, Charles let out a sigh; making gadgets for the War Ministry was not his favoured cup of tea and the stress showed; his moustache had steadily become whiter, his olive complexion had steadily become darker and while his light blue fur retained its light blue colouration, Charles was under no delusions as to his ability to withstand the march of time.

Still, he was able to keep his sanity; his latest project, much to his satisfaction, had potential for both military and civilian use. Although Charles accepted the fact that it would almost exclusively be used for the former initially, hopefully said use would lead to the end of the war, resulting in an increased use in the latter. Not that that was all he was working on though, given the little surprise he had in store for his nephew.

Speaking of which…

"You alright Sonny boy?" Charles asked his nephew, using the nickname that he called him on occasion. Looking over the table, he saw that Sonic was still, somewhat (alright, _extremely_) unusually in a state of silence, having barely touched his first chilli dog. Given that the 'meat sticks wrapped in bread' were Sonic's favourite food, for the hedgehog not to have touched them was extremely foreboding.

True, Charles hadn't known the boy all that long in retrospect, having only taken custody of Sonic after that tragedy on Christmas Island a year ago, but he still knew him well enough to know that by this stage of the evening, Sonic should have just finished his fourth chilli dog and either gone upstairs to read some comics, play outside with his dog Mutski or play on his Sega Genesis. That he _wasn't _doing any of this, instead simply staring into space, completely unresponsive, boded ill.

"Sonic?" asked Charles, a little more forcefully this time and using his nephew's actual name for extra effect.

No answer.

"**Sonic!"** shouted Charles, causing Sonic to literally jump out of his chair. Landing with a soft 'thud', Sonic glared at his uncle;

"_What?" _he asked irritably

Charles's visage softened, only partially satisfied with the results; on the one hand, he'd got his nephew's attention. On the other, he'd pissed him off in the process. He thus proceeded to dilute the effect of the latter while exploiting the former;

"I asked if you were alright," said Charles softly.

"Hmm?" asked Sonic. "Oh, I'm fine."

Charles chuckled; "Sonny boy, you're a hopeless liar. I-…"

"I said I'm fine!" Sonic shouted, slamming both of his hands on the table. For all the fierceness in his eyes, Chuck knew his nephew well enough to see that it was nothing more than a façade. Sonic must have realised this too, given that he simply slumped back against his chair after a few seconds.

"Chuck…we should always do the right thing, right?" Sonic asked eventually.

Chuck raised an eyebrow, but soon smiled; "Sonic, did you tear up your sneakers again?"

"No!" Sonic protested, a bit too readily. Still, that's usually the case when someone tells a half truth.

"No, I mean, we should always do what is right, correct?" Sonic asked.

Chuck shrugged; "I guess. What society deems as right often comes to be seen as moral. Why fight against it?"

Sonic bit his lip; "What if…what if what society deemed as right seemed like the wrong thing? What if you did something that others approved of yet made you feel guilty inside?"

Chuck laid back against his chair, hands behind his neck, obviously deep in thought. Sonic waited with a degree of trepidation for his uncle to answer. Finally he spoke;

"That, Sonny boy," said Chuck slowly, "is a very good question." He gave Sonic a look of concern; "I can only prey that you're never placed in such a position."

"But if I was?" Sonic asked, wishing that his uncle would cut to the chase.

Chuck sighed; "Sonic, if you ever were in such a position, such a choice would be yours alone. I can only give you one piece of advice…"

"Which is…?" Sonic asked slowly. Chuck locked his eyes with that of his nephew;

"Follow your instincts."


	3. Benefit of the Doubt

**Friendship**

**Chapter 3: Benefit of the Doubt**

**0601 hours, October 6, 3224**

**South Island, house on southwest beach strip**

In the brief time that Sonic had attended Mobotropolis Elementary School, namely the unpleasant period of his life where he had been forced to spend the bulk of his day with six legs on the ground rather than two, Sonic had come to the not so astounding conclusion that English was not one of his best subjects.

True, the hedgehog had a general dislike to almost anything and everything that prison had thrown at him (apart from PE of course), but English had really took the coop. Going over nouns, verbs and adjectives had to be the most effective way of killing brain cells in the known world and the assigned novels, while admittedly fairly interesting at times, were a far cry from the comics that Sonic usually preferred, the stories about superheroes and megalomaniacal villains not being "real books" at best and "trash that the sooner you grow out of, the better" at worst.

Suffice to say, in the few months that Sonic had attended school no,_ prison_, before the latest conscription phase had left said establishment so drastically understaffed that it had to close, along with Uncle Chuck's transfer to South Island in order to carry out his research in greater secrecy, Sonic had gained a glimpse at hell. Even now, walking down the stairs from his room, the hedgehog could not help but shudder at the memories.

Still, school had provided some use, in that it had taught Sonic about a certain phrase that, in his current situation, could be applied fittingly; the act of giving someone the benefit of the doubt.

Sonic had initially paid no heed to such a saying, but after hearing it used numerous times in the context of Sonic forgetting, losing and/or witnessing his homework be destroyed "in an accident totally beyond my control", Sonic could not help but ask as to its meaning. Partly out of curiosity, the other part being driven by the fact that the phrase was being used less frequently. After all, the dog could eat your homework only so many times.

As it turned out, the act of giving someone the benefit of the doubt was believing in their integrity despite such belief being against their instincts. Smiling faintly at the memory of the moment of realisation, the horrifying few seconds where Sonic had realised that all his stories of fires and overlander raiding parties had not been so believable after all, he could almost sympathise with his teachers. After all, here he was, giving the-…

"_No," _Sonic thought to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs. _"I'm not giving that scientist the benefit of the doubt. Not fully at least."_

Ignoring the voice at the back of his head that implied that he was lying to himself, Sonic did a quick calculation; having set his alarm clock for 6am, an hour before Chuck gave him permission to get up, Sonic figured that he had 1.5-2 hours to get to the source of what had kept him up all night, caught between everything that his memory and those in Mobotropolis had told him and the counterargument that his gut provided, that Flicky's faith in the human wasn't misplaced and that there were exceptions to the norm that overlanders, technically a branched species of human given their increased height and strength, provided.

Sonic's gut had done a lot of talking that night. It was no wonder that the bathroom now stank to high heaven.

It had been on one of the trips to said excretement point that Sonic, regretting the fact that only three chilli dogs had not provided him with enough fibre and other wholesome goodness, had decided what he had to do. Although his mind had started giving him headaches, Sonic had resolved to believe that Flicky possessed a degree of integrity, to do what Chuck had suggested.

To follow his instincts…

Tying up his shoelaces while trying to ignore the worsening state of the sneakers' soles, Sonic glanced at the clock that hung in the hallway; 6:04am. Assuming that he could find his way back to where he had first stumbled upon Kintobor, going at a speed that wouldn't see his allowance docked until it had covered the damage costs to his footwear, Sonic reckoned that he could get to the underground lab within thirty to forty-five minutes. Perhaps a rather early arrival, but the idea of sitting around waiting for the sun to fully rise was bad enough under normal circumstances, let alone when your entire being was engaged in a war of moral dilemma.

Getting to his feet, Sonic glanced out the window, feeling panic as the first rays of sun filtered their way in through the glass. He quickly suppressed them; _"I'm in the southern hemisphere," _the hedgehog reminded himself. _"The seasons are all out of whack down here."_ Trying to envisage the idea of a "Christmas by the barbie" (whatever that meant) and failing miserably, Sonic turned to head out the door-…

And came face to face with Muttski.

Sonic literally jumped backwards, a credit to his natural agility yet not a positive reflection on his current level of courage. Shaking off the feeling, he approached his (well, technically Chuck's) dog, holding out his hand for the canine to sniff it. Not something he did regularly of course, but when one sees a pet dog just _standing_ there, akin to a B-grade horror movie, one tended to get jumpy.

Much to Sonic's relief, Muttski didn't seem intent on warping his perception on reality any further, given that he almost immediately started licking Sonic's gloved hand and wagging his tail excitedly, presumably under the impression that his new master, Chuck having turned over ownership for all intents and purposes, had got up early just for him, willing to play another game of fetch or another pointless yet fun game. It was hardly surprising considering that although Muttski had the general build of a Doberman, with elements of bulldog in his facial features, the canine had the general behaviour of a terrier. Not being any expert on dog breeds, all Chuck and Sonic generally saw was a brown furred dog with lighter shading on the belly and face, along with amber eyes.

Sonic smiled faintly as he patted the mutt in front of him. From what Sonic knew, Muttski had been bought by Chuck for the sake of companionship, proving that even scientists were not deprived of what was considered a 'life'. Ten destroyed test tubes and six ruined experiments later however, Chuck had begun to wonder if what was regarded as 'mobian's best friend' was really worth conforming to the social norm, not to mention that the idea of companionship was going down the sink faster than the chemicals that had been in those test tubes.

Still, Chuck had persevered and after four years of obedience school, Muttski had graduated just in time for Sonic's arrival into his uncle's life a year ago, providing the young hedgehog with much needed companionship. It had been a good partnership, considering that within a few weeks, Chuck could no longer claim ownership; in light of the companionship that was evident between the scientist's dog and nephew, such an honour belonged to Sonic and even that was inaccurate, such a term being made redundant in light of said relationship.

Continuing to pat the hyperactive canine and trying to avoid the slobber works which came with it, Sonic was tempted to remain, to give into Muttski's wishes and provide him with entertainment, forgetting yesterday's events completely. Still, he managed to resist; even in these kinds of circumstances, what Sonic had settled on doing last night was an adventure in a sense, something that he never, _ever _turned down.

"Sorry pal, gotta juice," Sonic murmured, walking past his dog and stepping outside, ignoring Muttski's whimpers. Cold air washed over him;

"Guess this hemisphere isn't so whacked after all," Sonic murmured. "Almost like my current circumstances."

Giving one final farewell to Muttski, Sonic jogged off, going at a leisurely pace of 80km/hr. As he did so, despite the fact that his mind was still giving him a headache, despite the fact that Muttski was staring at him in remorse and what seemed like trepidation, he couldn't help but smile at his circumstances. Whacked of course, but if they weren't…

Where would the fun be in that?

* * *

**0652 hours, October 6, 3224**

**South Island, Green Hills**

"_Sometimes I'm so good I even amaze myself."_

It was this arrogant, yet admittedly justified line of thought that ran through Sonic's mind as he stood at the section of earth through which he had climbed up from the lab. Having travelled to the canyon where he had originally found the grate that covered the tunnel in surprisingly short a time (even travelling at the paltry speed that jogging brought), not to mention finding the section itself quickly, Sonic's ego was running high.

Yet utilitarianism was also dictating such thoughts; a high ego, namely Sonic's preferred state of being, made a convenient distraction from the fact that he'd actually reached his destination, the place where he had to see whether giving Dr. Kintobor the benefit of the doubt was the right course of action.

Trepidation was always highest when one reaches the ledge.

Sonic shook his head; small talk could wait, action couldn't. Keeping his ego high in order to convert it to confidence if necessary (for Sonic, confidence tended to come naturally even without ego), the hedgehog lifted up the section of earth, seeing the cold metal at its base and the floor of the lab below it, a floor that, with a lithe swing on the hatch, Sonic landed on softly.

"_So far so good," _Sonic thought to himself, starting to feel like a hero from a movie, video game or comic book. _"Now all I have to do is…oh."_

Either Sonic hadn't landed as softly as he thought or Lady Luck had decided to be a bitch, considering that at the end of the hallway, the human that Sonic had met yesterday was standing with a cup of coffee in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Still, Sonic barely noticed these things. What _did_ catch his attention, was that the scientist was smiling. Cheesily.

Crap.

"Ah, Erincaeus Europaeus decides to make a return," Kintobor said, somehow managing to pull off such a comment without sounding snide. "Are you the one taking point for your army friends? Or have you simply come to visit?"

"Um…the…latter," said Sonic awkwardly while simultaneously wanting to kick himself. He would have liked to have said the former, but that could have led to the admission that he didn't know what taking point entailed. Video games and comic books had jipped him.

"Excellent," the scientist beamed, clasping his hands together and spilling coffee on his clipboard in the process. "May I offer you breakfast? I suppose you haven't had one yet, given the time."

Sonic's stomach rumbled in response, the hedgehog realising that despite all his planning for visiting Kintobor and getting back before Chuck noticed anything, breakfast had somehow slipped off the schematics.

"_It's no surprise really," _the hedgehog reflected. _"Chuck usually makes my meals after all…" _Images of chilli dogs, chilli cheeseburgers and French fries started drifting through the mobian's mind.

The combination of the rumbling stomach and the drool in the corner of Sonic's mouth indicated to Kintobor that his inference was correct; "You best come along," the scientist said, beckoning to Sonic as he headed back to the lab. "I've just put some bacon and eggs on."

Walking into the lab and seeing the fold-out table that was covered in various diagrams, the only clear space being reserved for a plate, Sonic could see that toast also featured with the human's breakfast, if "breakfast" was really the term that could be applied for burnt toast, burnt bacon and a boiled egg.

"_Wonder why the egg got special treatment?" _Sonic wondered, suppressing his disappointment at Kintobor's cooking skills, the amount of steam coming from the kitchen hardly filling him with confidence. _"Some kind of fetish? Or maybe he just got lucky…"_

Luck…Sonic couldn't help but wonder if Kintobor finding him as soon as he landed really was bad luck after all, whether Lady Luck was really being bitchy instead of actually smiling down on him. Not that Sonic really wanted the patronage of someone who spent their life by a giant spinning wheel, but even so, he began to see her wisdom. After all, if Kintobor _hadn't_ found him and he'd gone on his planned course of action…well, that may not have turned out well. After all, an enemy didn't offer you breakfast unless he wanted to poison you and looking down at the food on the table, Sonic reflected that Kintobor was probably just as much as risk as he was.

As Kintobor did something in the kitchen (probably something stupid given that the amount of steam increased) Sonic looked around, one part of his mind maintaining that it was to look for threats, the other, more rational part simply doing so out of curiosity. Both parts were disappointed for the most part; apart from the bookshelf containing works on…well, things that had names like "quantum mechanics", all that the lab featured was a giant…thing.

As Kintobor shouted in pain from the kitchen, Sonic walked over to the giant object, the "generator" as he had supposed when he first entered the lab. Walking over to the giant oval shaped object, minding the loose tubes and taking note of the various consoles surrounding it, not to mention the 'humming', Sonic supposed that "generator" was a good term.

But what was it 'generating' exactly? Looking through the small porthole shaped window on the machine's exterior, Sonic wasn't exactly sure. Given that all he could see inside were the flashing colours akin to those of the rainbow, Sonic wasn't exactly sure. Part of his mind prompted him to ask Kintobor, yet he just couldn't turn away. The flashing colours…they were so…_alluring_.

"I see that you've noticed the ROCC," came a voice, causing the hedgehog to jump in surprise. Landing back on terra firma, he saw that Kintobor was standing behind him, a burnt hand holding a plate of bacon and toast that were actually cooked well. Not that Sonic really noticed however, given what had been said;

"A rock?" Sonic asked. "Doesn't look like a rock, looks more like a-…"

"No, not _a _rock, _the _rock," said Kintobor proudly. "ROCC is simply an acronym, standing for Retro Orbital Chaos Compressor."

"I see…" said Sonic slowly, not caring that he was showing himself to be a hopeless liar.

Kintobor sighed; "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Nope. Not a clue."

Kintobor nodded slowly; "Very well. I couldn't really expect you to fully understand."

"Is that an insult?" Sonic asked sharply as Kintobor began to type on one of the consoles by the ROCC.

"Of course not," Kintobor murmured as he continued to type. "Why would I do that?"

Sonic could think of many reasons, most of them revolving around the notion that the human was an arrogant twat who wanted to make himself look smart at every opportunity, even at the expense of others. Before he could voice such reasons however, the scientist finished typing, a hologram of the interior of a machine being displayed above the fold out table.

"This," said Kintobor proudly, "is the interior of the ROCC."

At first, Sonic didn't know what to make of it. Sure, the basic outline was simple enough, with various metal pipes and tubes leading to what looked like a central chamber. It was what was inside these things that prompted the hedgehog's attention; rings of some kind filled the pipes and in the central chamber, six…objects rotated slowly around what appeared to be a central energy field. They looked like gemstones of some kind, a hexagonal base on top coming down to a point below.

"These are power rings, the ROCC's power source," said Kintobor, going into what Sonic recognised as 'lecture mode.' "Found all over Mobius and a fifth element of sots, they're a clean, stable source of energy." He looked at Sonic; "Of course, you knew that already didn't you?"

"Er…sure doc," said Sonic awkwardly, telling a half lie as it was. He knew a bit about the power rings, most of it coming from Chuck. Although their origins were shrouded in mystery, none could deny their worth as a useful energy source given their stability and the absence of any pollutants emitted by their usage. Virtually every hover car in Mobotropolis, indeed every _vehicle_ relied on power rings for fuel and around one third of Mobotropolis's power grid relied on power rings, the rest of the city's energy needs being supplied by wind and solar power. Perhaps not the most efficient or reliable sources of energy, but to even suggest that fossil fuels and/or uranium be used was pretty much taboo, considering the CO2 and waste they produced respectively. The Kingdom of Acorn's monarchy had always possessed high regard for the balance between civilisation and the natural world.

"And _these_," said Kintobor proudly, gesturing towards the floating gems, "are the chaos emeralds." He gazed at Sonic in such a way that the hedgehog felt sure he was going to take off his glasses and zap him with laser beams…or something. "You _do _know what those are, right?"

"I…well, yeah," said the mobian awkwardly, remembering hearing chaos emeralds being mentioned at school at some point during a discussion of mythology or some equally ridiculous. He smirked; "But come on doc, you know that they aren't real, right? That the chaos emeralds are just a legend?"

Given that Kintobor seemed to be close to…well, whatever a reddening face and throbbing vein led towards, Sonic began to guess that Kintobor didn't know that the chaos emeralds were just a myth, that the idea of seven magical stones of infinite energy as old as the world itself had the power to convert one's dreams into reality, whether they be for good or evil. True, powerful gems weren't exactly unheard of on Mobius, the power stones being testament to this, but even so…

"Just legend?" Kintobor whispered, leaning close to Sonic. "Just _legend_?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much," said Sonic casually. "I take it that you think otherwise?"

"Of course I think otherwise!" shouted Kintobor, causing Sonic to jump back in surprise. "I didn't leave Megaopolis, travel through hell and back and isolate myself from the world just so I could involve myself into a debate as to whether the chaos emeralds were real or not!"

With that the scientist brought his fist crashing down on the console, a 'slam' echoing throughout the room. Sonic initially attributed it to rage but realised a second later that it had purpose, another hologram appearing beside the one that showed the ROCC's interior. Unlike the green outline of the first hologram this one was in colour, although far less intricate, simply showing seven emeralds, all of them exactly the same shape as the ones supposedly inside the ROCC.

"The chaos emeralds, the gems that can convert our dreams into reality," Kintobor said grandly as he swept his arm towards the image of the seven red, blue, yellow, green, purple, cyan and grey gems, one of each colour respectively. "With these gems, I can rid Mobius of evil forever!"

"You…what?" Sonic asked, blinking a few times.

"You heard me!" Kintobor declared triumphantly. "With the seven chaos emeralds, I can convert my dreams into reality! I can remove Mobius of everything unwholesome, of strife, mistrust, prejudice…" The doctor had a faraway look in his eyes as he slowly looked back down at Sonic; "Even stop the war between the overlanders and the Kingdom of Acorn." He smiled; "Don't you think that's a wonderful thing?"

"Um…sure," said the hedgehog awkwardly, wondering how someone so insane could possibly become a scientist. Removing evil from the world? What the hell was this crap? It wasn't as if there was some kind of evil force that permeated everything, that made people commit immoral acts…was there? Sonic shook his head as Kintobor began shutting down the holograms; the entire situation reeked of supernatural mumbo jumbo, the type of thing that a simple minded three year old would write in a bad story.

"Of course, as you probably noticed, only six emeralds are currently in the ROCC," said Kintobor as he headed for the fold out table. "As such, while the evil energy is being channelled through the chaos emeralds into the machine, it's incredibly unstable."

"Doesn't look like it," Sonic murmured, giving the ROCC a light kick. A simple 'clang' sounded.

"You've seen it on a good day," Kintobor smirked as he took a bite of toast. "Little baby's got a mind of its own sometimes."

Sonic remained silent as he sat down, wondering whether it was truly safe to eat the food in front of him. Not out of any suspicion that Kintobor was trying to poison him, but rather out of fear that the doctor would do so inadvertently. After hearing the things the doctor had said…well, suffice to say that Sonic suspected that the good doctor was a few cans short of a six pack.

It was an odd feeling really, knowing that the little escapade had removed any suspicion that Sonic had of the scientist, that he was like those in power in Megaopolis, the capital city of the overlanders which was located on the Great North Continent's mid-northeast coast. The doctor's quirkiness had removed his misgivings and upon reflection, Sonic couldn't bring them back.

"_But seriously, removing __**evil**__?" _Sonic wondered, chuckling mentally at the idea of such an action. _"I mean, it's not as if-…"_

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Sonic blinked, Kintobor's question bringing him back to reality. The scientist smiled sadly "Everything I've said, you find it ridiculous, don't you?"

"I…guess you could say that," said Sonic slowly, surprising himself with his own diplomacy.

"Thought as much," smirked Kintobor. "But just think of the concept, Sonic, how it could lead to a better world for all of us." He took off his glasses, peering into Sonic in such a way that the hedgehog felt like his very soul was under scrutiny. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Sonic remained silent, his black eyes meeting Kintobor's grey ones. Sonic would have never considered himself a particularly perceptive individual, but even so, seeing the sincerity that the scientist possessed, a sincerity that Sonic had seen in few individuals, even amongst his own kind.

"No," the hedgehog said eventually, taking a piece of bacon and enjoying its salty taste.

"There's nothing wrong with that."

* * *

_A/N_

_And that concludes it._

_There is a chance that I may carry the story on someday, but the fact remains that not only is Kintobor's story already known, but has been told multiple times in official media already. A rehash isn't really needed. Ending the story where I abandoned it before allows me to at least end it on a positive note._

_As far as future _Sonic the Hedgehog_ stories go, one I intend to write is _Black Wind_, which is an account of the history of Cascade in the _Sonic X _series. At this time of writing, all that remains of the pre-writing process is to develop the characters. More info can be found in my profile. In addition, I've posted a _SatAM _oneshot alongside this story. Seems a good time to have done so, considering that a pitch since annimator Michael Sullivan is making a pitch to Sega and DiC to revive the series._

_Anyway, that's it. Story and advertisment over._


End file.
